stephenph

stephenph t1_j6jjyqs wrote

I remember a cross country flight in late 90s (I think maybe a bit later) that had a crappy VHS player for the movie, the kind that had the jitter noise on the bottom. it was unwatchable, but they would not turn it off as the flight was billed as showing a movie.....

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stephenph t1_j6isy7p wrote

Yes the 3.5 jack has been a standard in personal electronics for years, and you are probably right about they reasons they designed the dual plug thing initially. but I think it was also, at least partially, what was submitted to the FAA and once it was approved it became the approved standard. Unlikely to change until they revisited entertainment systems. If there is no compelling (safety) reason they just don't redesign systems on passenger aircraft.

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stephenph t1_j6i5w07 wrote

And the electronics certification for Aircraft is slow and expensive. I think the dual jack was designed and approved before cell phones and media players were common (let alone allowed to be used)

Also, I would bet there was a level of "tech lock-in" ensuring the only source for the headsets were one or two companies.

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